Valley’s tulip garden may not bloom this season

With most of the winter passing by without any rain and snow,experts have pressed the alarm bells.

“Only God can save the tulips now. Why only tulips,everything will be affected by the changing weather pattern,” Director,Floriculture,Ghulam Sarwar Naqash warned. “Throughout the winter,the tulip fields required a temperature of around minus 2-3 degrees Celsius. But the day temperature shot up to 15 and 16 degrees Celsius in January and February first week. This could prove fatal for the tulip buds.”

Naqash hoped rainfall and snow of the second week of February to restore some damage.

“Tulip bulbs should have been under two or three feet of snow in January. Though artificial irrigating techniques and other means were used to save the 15 lakh tulip bulbs planted in flower beds,I am not sure if they have worked or not. That will be only known in the last week of March when the early varieties of tulips start to blossom. Till then,we are keeping our fingers crossed.”

Naqash is not alone in his apprehension. “For tulips,moisture and adequate dampness in winters is very necessary,” said Ghulam Ahmad,a gardener associated with the garden for the past four years.

“The coldest 40 days of winter,known as Chilay Kalan,passed not only dry but also saw a constant rise in the temperature,” he said. “For tulips,wet winters and dry springs are very important.”

Environmental scientist,Sher Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences,Dr Farooq,said,“Dry weather conditions are harming Kashmir’s agriculture,horticulture and floriculture. Since tulips are spring flowers,they become the first casualty in a dry winter.”

He said artificial sprinkling of water is not always useful.

With the addition of three lakh tulip bulbs last year,this garden is now said to be bigger than the tulip gardens of Holland and other European countries. “This is the only place in the world where more than 15 lakh tulips of different varieties blossom at one place,” said Naqash.

“Though we have many plans in store for the garden,our priority right now is to safeguard the existing tulip bulbs buried under the beds.”